Manchester United went into their game with Liverpool at Anfield in 2011 leading the Premier League table, but a defeat at Chelsea five days earlier had kept their advantage to three points.
Liverpool were enduring a disappointing campaign, and Kenny Dalglish's side were keen for a victory over their bitter rivals to move them up to sixth position in the standings to keep their hopes of Champions League qualification alive.
Dalglish was boosted after Steven Gerrard passed a fitness test before the game, while he was also able to include £35m signing Andy Carroll in his squad for the first time since his big-money move from Newcastle United.
As for United, Nemanja Vidic was missing through suspension and Rio Ferdinand was sidelined through injury, leaving Wes Brown and Chris Smalling to take responsibility in the centre of defence.
The home side began the encounter on top, but despite their dominance in the early stages, they couldn't force Manchester United stopper Edwin van der Sar into action.
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Liverpool continued to apply the pressure, but United nearly stunned the Merseyside club with an opener on 16 minutes when Dimitar Berbatov curled an attempt off the post after good approach work from Wayne Rooney.
Liverpool responded through some industrious play from Luis Suarez, but after the Uruguayan striker had beaten Patrice Evra, his cross was headed back across goal by Raul Meireles just out of the reach of Dirk Kuyt.
However, the home team did take the lead on 34 minutes and again, Suarez was the instigator. The former Ajax man nutmegged Rafael before holding off the attentions of Michael Carrick and Brown, and his effort across goal was tapped home by Kuyt from on the goal line.
Five minutes later, Liverpool doubled their advantage after capitalising on an horrendous mistake from Nani. The Portuguese winger had the opportunity to clear the ball, but he sent it back towards Van Der Sar's goal and Kuyt stole in to nod the ball into the net.
With the half-time whistle only seconds away, tempers flared when Jamie Carragher went in late on Nani, and he was promptly given a yellow card, but Nani's theatrics didn't help the tension between the two sides.
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Manchester United returned for the second half with more intent, and Ryan Giggs and Berbatov went close to halving the deficit, but Liverpool secured the three points shortly after the hour as Kuyt registered his hat-trick.
Suarez's free kick found its way through the United wall, and after Van Der Sar could only parry the ball towards Kuyt, the Dutchman slid in to complete his first treble for the Anfield outfit.
That goal allowed Dalglish to introduce Carroll for his debut, and within a minute, he found the target with a powerful header from the edge of the area, but it was never going to beat Van Der Sar.
Liverpool continued to push for a fourth as the clock ticked down, but United netted a consolation goal in added-on time when Javier Hernandez headed past Pepe Reina after getting on the end of Giggs's cross.
The result left United in danger of being caught by Arsenal at the top of the table, but six victories from their final nine matches resulted in Sir Alex Ferguson's side winning the Premier League by nine points.
As for Liverpool, five wins from seven had given them an opportunity to qualify for Europe, but defeats in their final two fixtures left them in sixth position, leaving them without Europa League action in the following campaign.
Darren Plant
